Uncommon Tasty Sandwiches
If you like sandwiches for lunch at home, work, picnics, or the day out on a boat, you contribute to the statistic of 300 million sandwiches consumed per day in the USA.
Not a bad growth in popularity from 1762, when the 4th Earl of Sandwich, too obsessed with gambling to break for a meal, asked his cook for some roast beef between two slices of bread to keep his fingers clean for the cards. The cook never made history, but the concept gained immediate popularity and retained the Earl’s name. Americans were somewhat resistant to accepting something invented by aristocracy, but it first appeared here in an 1815 cookbook and now you can even get a gluten free sandwich.
A sandwich has been an adaptable means for creating a quick satisfying meal. Some sandwich names have curious origins. The Po’Boy became popular in a New Orleans eatery from the name given to each streetcar striker during Depression, who came to claim a free meal. Amazingly, the Reuben did not originate in NYC, but during a card game in a hotel in Omaha Nebraska, the name of one of the players. And then there are sandwiches which have different names such an Italian hoagie, grinder or sub, depending on location. There are hot sandwiches, such as the famous Philadelphia cheese steak, Italian meatball sandwiches and the quick supper many of us remember, Sloppy Joe, probably named after a short order cook named Joe.
Open faced sandwiches
Interestingly, in Europe most sandwiches are open faced, meaning that the filling is on top of a single piece of bread with a decorative topping for eye appeal. It can be ham, fish, eggs, cheese, turkey or even cottage cheese. Cut in small sizes or made on cocktail rye they make an excellent accompaniment to gazpacho and other summer cold soups. They also make fine finger food for larger gatherings. Since cocktail rye is very thin, it also adapts well to open or closed format with fillings such as smoked salmon or trout patè with a thin slice of cucumber.
The current popularity of wraps presents another tool for preparing attractive finger food as tasty sandwiches in a different form for large gatherings. The following is made with Lavash, a thin flat bread of Mideastern origin, that is locally available in supermarkets. Other wraps can be used but should not be too thick or too soft. Choose your preferred filling, but the recipe below uses roast beef, or combinations of smoked ham and turkey and Provolone cheese,
Lavash cocktail sandwiches
1) Have ready to assemble for a large tray: 4 pieces of Lavash, some flavorful onion dip, thin slices of roast beef, smoked ham and turkey, sharp Provolone cheese, strips of tender lettuce, fresh basil leaves and thin sliced Pepperoncini.
2) Spread each Lavash with the onion dip not too thick, covering the entire surface. Place a layer of selected meat over the entire surface. Layer 2 layers of the beef, but only one layer of turkey and ham since these are covered with 1 layer of Provolone.
3) Layer a strip of lettuce crosswise along the middle and cover it with a single layer of fresh basil leaves. Spread a thin light layer of Pepperoncini on top of the basil leaves.
4) Starting with the edge closest to you wrap the Lavash flat bread as tightly as you can in a long cylinder. Wrap the cylinder tightly in aluminum foil, twisting the ends. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
5) Remove from refrigerator and unwrap. Cut of the ends of each cylinder and slice the rest in ½ inch slices. Arrange slices on the tray and decorate with parsley and cherry tomatoes.
As we appreciate the ease of summer, we look for ways to simplify our time in the kitchen. Resuming social obligations does not have to mean giving up that simplicity if we utilize the convenience and variety of the sandwich for tasty and colorful presentations at the table.
(I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)
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